Section Three: Teacher Candidate Artifacts

Introduction

In this Teacher Candidate Artifacts section of my portfolio I will showcase artifacts that I

have accumulated and completed over the course of my time in the MSED program at Medaille

College. I will include eight artifacts that will highlight my abilities as a teacher as well as my

instructional skills and my abilities to plan, instruct and evaluate students in a fun and engaging

manner. These artifacts will also showcase my competence with technology and accommodation

for students with special needs in the classroom, my classroom management skills and culturally

responsive teaching (CRT). The nine artifacts I have included are, my SMART Board Author

Study Presentation; my DASA Certification, my Weebly Teacher Website, my Science Unit Plan,

my NetSmartz Cyber Safety Workshop Presentation and certificate, Educational Application

(App) Review Assignment, my Pecha Kucha Presentation on ADHD, a Philosophy of Education

Research Paper.

The artifacts I have included relate to my philosophy of education as they will showcase

how I would teach and motivate students in the classroom. To do so I will take into consideration

the students cognitive abilities, emotional level, physical needs, linguistics, and social

development, their interests, their strengths and their outlooks on life. The artifacts that I have

incorporated supports the knowledge and skills that I have gathered over the course of my post-

secondary career and over the course of my time in the Master of Science in Elementary

Education program at Medaille College. The artifacts that are included support the fact that I am

more than ready to teach in the classroom; that I am willing to diversify my teaching styles so

that I can accommodate to the diversity of learners in the classroom; and that I can and will
create a safe, fun, engaging, productive and interactive environment where we can all work

together to become better individuals.

 Artifact One: SMART Board Author Study Presentation.

I have included my Smart Board Author Study Presentation that I created using the

SMART Notebook Program. Included in this artifact are links to YouTube videos giving a

synopsis of each of the book presented for students to read along and watch, and there are

activities for science, ELA and math for grade 5. The Ontario and New York State Standards

were used as a reference to create the activities for the author study so they align with the

curriculum standards for grade 5.

I included the Author Study as an artifact for many reasons. This artifact showcases my

ability to use and incorporate technology into the classroom. The artifact also provides evidence

that I can create activities that are interesting and engaging for grade 5 students. This artifact was

chosen because SMART Boards are used in many classrooms in Ontario. Students enjoy using

the SMART Board because they use technology or have technology all around them more and

more every day in today society. The activities I included incorporate Blooms Taxonomy and

Higher Order Thinking. Higher Order Thinking is thinking on a level that is more than

memorizing facts or regurgitating back something that the student was told exactly the way they

were told (Thomas & Thorne, 2013). I like to use these types of activities because it allows the

students to use thinking at higher levels and requires them do something with the facts;

understand them, infer from them, connect to other facts and concepts, categorize them,

manipulate them, put them together in new or novel ways (Thomas, et al., 2013).
 Connections to Standards

INTASC Standards

Standard #1: Learner Development

1(d) The teacher understands how learning occurs--how learners construct knowledge, acquire

skills, and develop disciplined thinking processes--and knows how to use instructional strategies

that promote student learning.

Standard #2: Learning Differences

2(d) The teacher brings multiple perspectives to the discussion of content, including attention to

learners personal, family, and community experiences and cultural norms.

Standard #3: Learning Environments

3(b) The teacher develops learning experiences that engage learners in collaborative and self-

directed learning and that extend learner interaction with ideas and people locally and globally.

International Society for Technology Education for Teachers and or Students

(ISTE):

Student

1.a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

2.b. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety

of media and formats.

5.b. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration,

learning, and productivity.

 Teacher

2.a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and

resources to promote student learning and creativity.

2.c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students diverse learning

styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.

P-12 NYS Common Core Standards

Common Core ELA Grade 5 Standards

- Reading: Literature

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6

Describe how a narrators or speakers point of view influences how events are described.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7

Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty

of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).

- Writing

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.4

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are

appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Common Core Math Grade 5 Standards

Number & Operations in Base Ten

Perform operations with multi-digit whole numbers and with decimals to hundredths.

5. Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.

 Ontario Curriculum Expectations

Ontario Math Grade 5 Standards

Patterning and Algebra

Specific Expectations: Variables, Expressions and Equations

Demonstrate, through investigation, an understanding of variables as unknown quantities

represented by a letter or other symbol.

Ontario ELA Grade 5 Standards

1. Listening to Understand

Analyzing Texts

1.7 analyze oral texts and explain how specific elements in them contribute to meaning

(e.g., ideas and information, word choice, tone of voice, pace of delivery, body language).

1. Reading for Meaning

Point of View

1.9 identify the point of view presented in texts, ask questions to identify missing or

possible alternative points of view, and suggest some possible alternative perspectives (e.g., ask

why the perspective of certain characters in a story is not presented and include some missing

voices in a dramatization of a text; with a partner, role-play an interview with a person who

represents one of the missing voices)

Ontario Science Grade 5 Standards

Understanding Earth and Space Systems: Conservation of Energy and Resources.

1. Relating Science and Technology to Society and the Environment

1.1 Analyze the long-term impacts on society and the environment of human uses of

energy and natural resources, and suggest ways to reduce these impacts (e.g., turning off the
faucet while brushing teeth or washing and rinsing dishes conserves water; reusing or recycling

products, or using fewer products, conserves natural resources and energy).

1.2 Evaluate the effects of various technologies on energy consumption, and propose

ways in which individuals can improve energy conservation.

Artifact
 Artifact Two: DASA Certification

The Dignity for all Students Act or better known as DASA was created and designed to

provide students with a safe school environment free from harassment and discrimination. The

act embraces diversity through the curriculum as well as promoting a positive school community

and cultural sensitivity. According to Finley (2014), the role of Culturally Responsive Classroom

management (CRCM) is to provide all students with equitable opportunities for learning by

reducing discriminatory school discipline practices that ensue when the behaviors of minority

populations are misconstrued. After completing the DASA training, I believe that it has better

prepared my supportive teaching practices and readiness as a teacher for the classroom by

improving my skills to prevent bullying, harassment and discrimination in the classroom and in

the school in general. By obtaining this certificate, it showcases that my students, under my care

and supervision, will be better prepared and educated for objectives such as sensitivity towards

others, awareness of harassment and bullying to minority and non-minority populations, and how

to interact with others from different ethnicities and backgrounds. Below, I will present the

DASA Certificate and the standards that correspond to this artifact.

Connections to Standards

INTASC Standards

Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice

The teacher engages in ongoing professional learning and uses evidence to continually

evaluate his/her practice, particularly the effects of his/her choices and actions on others

(learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts practice to meet the

needs of each learner.

9(o) The teacher understands the expectations of the profession including codes of ethics,

professional standards of practice, and relevant law and policy.

NYS Code of Ethics for Educators

Principle 5: Educators collaborate with parents and community, building trust and

respecting confidentiality.

Educators partner with parents and other members of the community to enhance school

programs and to promote student learning. They also recognize how cultural and linguistic

heritage, gender, family and community shape experience and learning. Educators respect the

private nature of the special knowledge they have about students and their families and use that

knowledge only in the students' best interests. They advocate for fair opportunity for all children.

The Ontario Ethical Teacher Standards

Care

The ethical standard of Care includes compassion, acceptance, interest and insight for

developing students' potential. Members express their commitment to students' well-being and

learning through positive influence, professional judgment and empathy in practice.

Respect

Intrinsic to the ethical standard of Respect are trust and fair-mindedness. Members

honour human dignity, emotional wellness and cognitive development. In their professional

practice, they model respect for spiritual and cultural values, social justice, confidentiality,

freedom, democracy and the environment.

 Trust

The ethical standard of Trust embodies fairness, openness and honesty. Members'

professional relationships with students, colleagues, parents, guardians and the public are based

on trust.

Integrity

Honesty, reliability and moral action are embodied in the ethical standard of Integrity. Continual

reflection assists members in exercising integrity in their professional commitments and

responsibilities.

TEAC/CAEP Claims 1-3

Claim 1: Medaille College graduates know the subject matter in their certification

area(s).

Claim 2: Medaille College graduates meet the needs of diverse learners through effective

pedagogy and best teaching practices.

Claim 3: Medaille College graduates are caring educators.